The city of Rochester (N.Y.) has become a recruiting hotbed
over the past five years and athletes like Rutgers linebacker Quentin Gause and
Notre Dame defensive tackle Jarron Jones are in large part responsible for
that. Gause, a three-star recruit out of Bishop Kearney, committed to Rutgers
early in the recruiting process over offers from Syracuse, Louisville, Duke,
Buffalo and Akron. While Jones, a four-star U.S. Army All-American, played his
high school ball at Aquinas Institute and selected the Fighting Irish (a little
close to National signing Day) over Rutgers and behemoths like Alabama, Auburn,
Florida, Florida State, Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan.

The two competed against one another in 2010 on the high
school gridiron and know each other well, according to Kala Gause, uncle of Quentin
and President and CEO of Beyond Athletics Scouting, Inc., a Rochester-based scouting service that
assists student-athletes in establishing exposure on a national scale by using
sports.

View full sizeKala Gause, President and CEO of Beyond AthleticsPhoto provided by Gause, used with permission

"They've got a pretty good relationship," said Kala Gause of
Quentin and Jones. "They played against one another once in high school. There
are two catholic high schools in the area. One is Bishop Kearney and the other
is Aquinas. Aquinas, they have been a dominant
state champ in the area for years. And Bishop Kearney continues to put Division
1 Athletes out there, as well.

"So they've got a history. They have run track against each
other, they've worked out together. They have a pretty good friendship and I
know they are looking forward to not only representing their schools, but also
representing the area."

Jones's Aquinas contingent won the aforementioned high
school contest 44-0, limiting Gause -- who also doubled as a running back in
high school -- to 75 yards on the ground.

But Gause, a 6-0, 215-pound high school senior at the time,
did put forth 15 tackles and two sacks in the contest. While Jones, then a 6-5,
265-pound junior, manned the defensive half of the trenches with eight tackles
and two sacks to go along with eight pancake blocks from his offensive tackle
post.

Fast forward three years: Gause is a 6-1, 227-pound red-shirt sophomore linebacker, who ranked fifth on the Rutgers team in tackles with 44, in a reserve role. Jones, now a 6-6, 305-pound red-shirt freshman, is just getting started, but has flashed his play-making ability in helping fill in for potential first round 2014 NFL Draft Pick Louis Nix – whose season ended early due
to a knee injury – at the nose guard position.

According to Gause, both Quentin and Jones mean a lot to the
Rochester area. Their pictures hang up in work out facilities all across the city as youngsters from their old stomping grounds strive to walk the path both
Gause and Jones have a few years before.

"They basically kicked the door open to recruiting in this
area, those two right there," said Gause. "So they are gonna have a lot of
support. There are a lot of kids looking up to them, right now. They've been
sort of waiting for those two to make an impact.

"Quentin, obviously he went first, and then Jarron a year
later. And there are a lot more athletes like that here. You are talking about
two kids with extreme talent and exceptional work ethic, and that's what got
them where they are. So, they mean a lot to the area."

For the populaces of the Rochester area, Saturday's Pinstripe
Bowl will serve as much more than a bowl game between two teams coming off up-and-down seasons. It will serve as vindication for an area of the country that has
fought tooth and nail to gain the respect of football programs across the
country who up until recently labeled New York as solely a basketball state.

"This is one of the first times I can think of that two Section
Five athletes are facing off against one another in such a big game," said
Gause. "And Right here in New York, too. What could be better than that?"